If you follow the
reports on the Hangartalk message board,
you're undoubtedly aware of the potential
for a new look on the Rare Bear this
September.. The team is reporting in, the
swap has been made and testing is
underway. AAFO's Mike Gallagher was on
scene today and has submitted these
photos of the engine runs..

Click
On Any Photo To Enlarge

The Rare Bear crew on the
propeller swap and engine work:

Crew Chief, Elliott White: "Hi all, we pulled
her out of the hanger and started her up
on Sat. We did 2 runs and so far every
thing is good. John is coming to town on
Sun. and we are going to try and fly on
Mon. As most of you know we put the 4
bladed propeller on the plane it does not look
right to me but we will see how it goes.
We are going to do as many ground runs on
Sun. as we can while getting ready to fly
I will let everyone know when we
fly."

Pilot, John Penney: "Regarding engine
work, our incredible crew, along with the
management skills of Sharon Coates have
all of our reworked cylinders back, and
four have been installed on the engine.

The four blade propeller, which was a trade to
"Critical Mass" while we ran
with one of their carbs, is being
installed for testing. We hope to get
enough data to make a quick, accurate
decision on whether we will run with the
3-blade, or the 4-blade this year. At
this time, technical rationale for this
potential swap is being held close to the
team. We'll expound more later after we
make the decision.

Meanwhile, while I've been unable to
secure that large corporate sponsorship,
Sharon Coates has been doing a marvelous
job running the fan-sponsor program, and
we are in a better position now than we
were this time last year. Eliott White,
our new Crew Chief, has been plugging
along tirelessly with all the other
"Reno Mechs", and we anticipate
having the plane back in the air in a few
days. We plan to collect 4-blade data at
the Pylon Racing School, 17-20 June.